old people

this image was made in may 1953, on the ocassion of the 96th birthday of my g-grandpa josiah meredith hart (1857–1957), one of a series of such celebrations held in the front yard of my grandma hart's house on w. fayetteville road, which was on the site of the log house where he was born, all now lost to the fifth runway at hartsfield-jackson intl airport — he's in the center here, with his half-brother warren at his right, and his grandson pink cherry [seriously] hart at his left — the old man remembered a corps of the union army rolling through their farm in 1864, when he was seven years old, the same age i was when he died — i've always felt myself fortunate to have known (ever how slightly) someone of his generation — at lower right in this image is four-year-old me — i've always liked history i guess, even when i didn't always know what i was looking at